By Victoria Anne Dale
Weight training offers a plethora of benefits, from stronger bones to better body composition. But if you’ve just started and haven’t noticed any changes, don’t worry! India Morse, an expert trainer from Women’s Health Collective, is here to explain what you can expect and when.
Define Your Goals
First, it’s important to understand what “results” mean to you. Are you looking to build muscle and strength, lose weight, or improve your mental health? While weight training can help with all these goals, the timeline for seeing results varies based on factors like age, genetics, gender, lifestyle, and your starting fitness level.
Building Strength
If your goal is to get stronger, you might see results fairly quickly. As a beginner, you can experience what’s known as “newbie gains.” This is due to neurological adaptation, which occurs within the first four to six weeks of starting weightlifting. As you train consistently (three to five days a week), your brain learns to recruit more muscle fibers, helping you lift more weight and perform exercises more efficiently. So, with a month of training, you may already be feeling stronger.
Losing Weight
If weight loss is your goal, you’ll likely start noticing changes within the same timeframe of one month to six weeks. Strength training helps replace fat with muscle, but weight loss involves more than just lifting weights. You’ll need to maintain a calorie deficit, tailored to your weight, height, gender, and activity level, and combine strength training with cardio. Consistency is key.
Forming a new habit takes a minimum of 18 days, so if you’ve been sticking to your routine for a month, you’re on the right track. Over time, as you build more muscle, your basal metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn at rest) will increase, making it easier to maintain and sustain weight loss.
Improving Mental Health
Weight training can also boost your mental health. Even just five minutes of moderate exercise can improve your mood. Studies have shown that resistance training can significantly boost self-esteem within as little as four weeks. So, if you’re feeling better mentally, you’re already experiencing some of the benefits of your new routine.
Keep Going
If you haven’t noticed any changes yet, don’t get discouraged. Adopting a new fitness routine involves a lot of small changes that may not be immediately visible, but they’re happening. Stick with it, and you’ll see and feel the results over time. Remember, the key to success is consistency, patience, and understanding that everyone’s journey is unique.
